1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector, and particularly to a connector with an improved retention member which simplifies manufacture and assembly of the connector.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat No. 5,104,326 issued on Apr. 14, 1992 discloses a connector 6 (see FIG. 5). The connector 6 comprises a longitudinal dielectric housing 60, a metallic shield 70 surrounding a front side 65 of the housing 60, a spacer 80, and a plurality of contacts 90 secured in the housing 60.
The housing 60 is symmetric about a central line in the mating direction and defines a pair of recesses 61 in an upper side thereof, and a pair of notches 62 and four slits 63 in a front end thereof. Two of the slits 63 rearwardly extend from lateral edges of the front end of the housing 60 adjacent end walls 64 and the other two extend rearwardly from a top edge of the front end of the housing 60.
The shield 70 includes a pair of legs 71 bending rearwardly from a top edge thereof, a pair of holes 72 corresponding to the notches 62, and four latches 73 corresponding to the slits 63. Each leg 71 has a foot 711 projecting upwardly from a plate 713 thereof.
The spacer 80 defines a pair of toes 82 extending upwardly from a bottom side thereof and a pair of receiving holes 84 proximate the toes 82.
During assembly, the shield 70 is pushed rearwardly from a front of the housing 60 and then encloses the front end of the housing 60. The pair of legs 71 are respectively received in the recesses 61 of the housing 60. The latches 73 are respectively locked to the slits 63 and the holes 72 are thus aligned with corresponding notches 62. The spacer 80 is then mounted to a top end of the housing 60 so that the feet 711 extend through the receiving holes 82 of the spacer 80. The connector 6 can then be secured to a circuit board (not shown) by the feet 711 and the toes 82 fitting into corresponding holes in the circuit board (not shown).
However, the housing 60 and the shield 70 are complexly configured. The defect in this prior art connector is that there are so many retention members (the legs 71, the feet 711, the latches 73, etc.) that the danger of misfitting pieces within tolerance is aggravated. Moreover, the connector 6 requires a spacer 80 to space and position the contacts 90.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.